Alipurduar: Families ‘occupying’ Railway land served notices
Alipurduar: The Alipurduar Division of the North-East Frontier Railway has served eviction notices to approximately 500 families and shops occupying government land near Alipurduar Railway Junction.
The notices were reportedly delivered by railway personnel using bulldozers on Monday morning, with a warning that if the houses and shops are not demolished voluntarily, the bulldozers will be used to clear the area.
Alipurduar DRM Amarjit Gautam emphasised the railway’s stance, stating: “Railways or any government land can never be illegally occupied. We will take all necessary steps to reclaim our land.”
He also expressed concern about the allocation of houses under the Banglar Awas scheme, questioning, “How can houses from the Banglar Awas scheme be built on railway land? We cannot allow this.”
The railway’s actions have created fear and uncertainty among local residents and business owners. The Dooars Unnayan Sangram Samiti has threatened to initiate protests in response. Ratul Biswas, joint convener of the association, said: “Alipurduar is a railway town.
If evictions are carried out for development purposes, we won’t oppose it. However, if this is merely an eviction for eviction’s sake, we will resist. We demand rehabilitation against the evacuation.
There are many vacant railway housing units in the Alipurduar junction area that have become hotspots for anti-social elements. It’s unacceptable to target vulnerable people and businessmen while ignoring these issues. We won’t let the junction turn into a wasteland.” Alipurduar MLA Suman Kanjilal also voiced strong opposition to the eviction plan, calling it “a bulldozer policy”.
He pointed out that many of the affected families have lived on unused railway land for years and questioned the railway’s approach, saying: “We will investigate why the railway is being so aggressive without providing any rehabilitation arrangements for these people and who is driving this decision.”